Saturday, June 20, 2009

Lucas Glover is reading a Clive Cussler novel in his down time at the U.S. Open, in part, because he says he's already memorized all the preseason football magazines and what they're saying about his Clemson Tigers.

Glover sits one shot behind leader Ricky Barnes in the second round of this weather-challenged Open, which is expected to be given another thorough soaking this afternoon if forecasters and Doppler radars can be believed.

This is new territory for the former Clemson All-American, who has never finished better than a tie for 20th in his 12 major championship starts.

Catching a break with his tee times, which allowed him to play in the best weather Friday and Saturday, Glover had a 20-foot putt on the ninth green Saturday (his 18th) to shoot 63, which would have added his name to an impressive list of players sharing the record for lowest score ever in a major.

"But I weenied out and left it short," Glover said.

Still, a 69-64 start has put Glover in position to do something special this weekend. He's driving the ball beautifully, which is an essential building block for U.S. Open success. He's also holing the five and six-foot putts that turn solid rounds into exceptional rounds.

Glover was finished by 9 a.m. Saturday and if the forecasted bad weather arrives later, he won't play again until sometime Sunday.

After lights out at 11:30 Friday night, Glover was up at 4:50 Saturday morning. He planned to make a stop by the grocery store to get some food to stuff in his golf bag and carve out time for an afternoon nap.